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Bodycam video shows police fatally shooting New Jersey woman whose family told 911 she was having a mental health crisis

By Nic F. Anderson and Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — Body camera footage was released Friday showing theĀ fatal police shooting of Victoria Lee, a 25-year-old woman whose brother had called 911 for medical help during her mental health crisis in Fort Lee, New Jersey last month.

At least five Fort Lee police officers responded to the familyā€™s apartment on July 28, according to the New Jersey Attorney Generalā€™s Office. After they were unable to get inside, one of the officers broke open the apartment door, footage of the incident released by the attorney generalā€™s office shows.

Within five seconds of forcing her front door open, one officer shot Lee in the chest, killing her, footage shows.

Before her mental health crisis, Lee was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Henry Cho, an attorney for Leeā€™s family, saidĀ at a press conference Tuesday. Lee was ā€œharmless,ā€ Cho said.

ā€œDespite their efforts to prevent escalation and clearly communicating her nonviolent nature, the police responded aggressively and forcefully entered the apartment and fatally shot Victoria, who was holding a plastic water jar at the time,ā€ Cho said.

An investigation into the incident comes amid growing scrutiny around how police around the country respond to mental health crises. Just three weeks before Lee was shot, Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman in Illinois who had called 911 for help, was also shot in her home. The day before Massey was killed, her mother called 911 and said her daughter was having a mental breakdown but wasnā€™t dangerous.

Adrian Lee, president of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, said at the press conference Tuesday that the shooting ā€œunderscores the urgent need to improve police training and response protocols for dealing with individuals facing mental health issues.ā€

ā€œMental health crises require understanding and appropriate intervention, not violence,ā€ he said. Advocacy groups are also expressing concern that the shooting of Lee, who is Asian, might leave New Jerseyā€™s Asian community fearful of seeking mental health help.

Leeā€™s family is looking for answers after the shooting took the young womanā€™s life.

ā€œVictoria was a beloved individual with a bright future, and her loss is immeasurable. The Lee family is committed to seeking justice and ensuring the full truth of this tragic event is revealed,ā€ Cho said.

The fatal police shooting is still under investigation, the attorney generalā€™s office said Friday.

CNN has reached out to Fort Lee Police for comment. CNN has also attempted to reach Cho and reached out to the Bergen County Medical Examinerā€™s Office.

Brother tried to cancel 911 call

On the night of the shooting, Leeā€™s brother made two 911 calls.

ā€œHer brother Chris made two phone calls to 911 requesting an ambulance, emphasizing her mental state and the presence of a small pocket knife she used for opening packages,ā€ Cho said.

The first call was to report that his sister wasĀ experiencing a mental health crisis and would like an ambulance to take her to a local hospital. After he was informed that aĀ police officer wouldĀ be accompanying medics, he asked for police not to come, but was told by the dispatcher that police presence was required for the medicsā€™ safety, according to an audio recording of the 911 call released by the attorney generalā€™s office.

Leeā€™s brother then calledĀ 911 a second time, requesting to cancel the initial call, but was told that wasĀ not possible for mental health crisis calls and that police will arrive shortly. The call operator asked Leeā€™s brother why he wants to cancel the call and he responded that his sister has a knife but that she isnā€™t threatening anybody, according to the audio.

ā€œSheā€™s just holding the knife,ā€ he said, adding that it was a ā€œfoldableā€ knife.

Video shows lead-up and aftermath

Four different body camera angles, with portions pixelated or blurred,Ā show the moments leading up toĀ the fatal shooting as police responded to the incident at Leeā€™s home around 1:25 a.m ET.

Bodycam footage shows aĀ Fort Lee police officer arriving at the familyā€™s apartment and Leeā€™s brother opening the door.Ā The officer asks if he is the person ā€œdealing with the mental health crisisā€ and the one with the knife, to which Leeā€™s brother says that the person is his sister.

The door is opened againĀ by a woman, identified by the attorney generalā€™s office as Leeā€™s mother, who was holding a barking dog. Lee appears in the background and says to ā€œclose the f**king doorā€ while reaching over her mother and closing the door.

Shortly after, at least four other officers arrive.

The initial officer yells that he will break the door down and someone, identified by the attorney generalā€™s office as Lee, is heard in the video yelling, ā€œgo ahead, Iā€™ll stab you in the f**king neck.ā€

One officer is seen reaching for his gun but stops to grab Leeā€™s brother to usher him away. Another officer steps in and escorts Leeā€™s brother away from the apartment door.

ā€œWe donā€™t want to shoot you, we want to help you,ā€ another officer is heard saying in the footage.

ā€œGo home, pig,ā€ Lee responds.

In police video, Fort Lee officers are heard discussing ā€œwho wants to go lethalā€ and ā€œless lethal.ā€ At least two officers, including the officer who fatally shot Lee, are heard saying they will ā€œgo lethal.ā€ At least one officer is heard saying he will go non-lethal.

Another officer says to the group that someone is going to get tools to open the doorĀ and adds ā€œnormally barricaded, we wait, but thereā€™s someone in there. We need to go.ā€

Footage then shows the officer who fatally shot Lee begin to attempt breaking down the door by body-slamming into it while screaming ā€œopen the door.ā€ Other officers are heard yelling at Lee to drop the weapon and that they will break the door down.

When the door opens, footage shows Lee and her motherĀ standing in the doorway and Lee can be seen holding a large blue water jug and stepping towards the door.

Footage shows an officer using a police shield in Leeā€™s direction.

ā€œDrop the knife,ā€ one officer yelled.

A knife was recovered at the scene, according to a news release from the attorney generalā€™s office. Itā€™s unclear from the footage if Lee was holding the knife when officers opened the door. Cho said Lee had dropped the knife before officers entered the apartment.

The attorney generalā€™s office said Lee approached the officers when she was fatally shot.

After Lee was shot and on the ground, an officer repeatedly yelledĀ to put the knife down and then continued asking where the knife is, to which someone said ā€œright here.ā€ The four body camera videos do not show if Lee had been holding a knife when she wasĀ shot.

The officer who fatally shot Lee drags her into the hallway by her feet as she is asked if she is okay and to show officers where she was shot, footage shows. One officer is heard yelling for towels.

Lee was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead around 1:58 a.m., authorities said.

ā€œThe family is deeply concerned about the policeā€™s unnecessary use of lethal force,ā€ Cho said Tuesday.

Advocacy groups criticize officerā€™s actions

In the wake of the fatal shooting, advocacy groups called the actions of the Fort Lee police officers ā€œsickeningā€ and demanded investment inĀ more culturally competent mental health services.

ā€œWords cannot describe our grief or anger,ā€ AAPI New JerseyĀ said Friday in a joint statement with AAPI New Jersey, the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, the Korean Community Center and MinKwon Center for Community Action.

The group saidĀ they worry that the killingĀ will further discourage AsianĀ American families from seekingĀ mentalĀ healthĀ help for a loved one, which can already be a difficult task for the community.

ā€œFor many reasons, it can be challenging for Asian Americans to access mental health support,ā€ AAPI said. ā€œWe are deeply concerned about the impact of this incident and other such devastating incidents on the willingness of Asian Americans to seek medical care when they need it.ā€

The groups said in the statement after the footage was released that Lee ā€œshould be alive today.ā€

ā€œThe footage and recordings released by the NJ Attorney Generalā€™s Office confirm what the Lee family has already shared with the world: that in a matter of minutes, the Fort Lee Police shot and killed Victoria, who was in no way a threat to anyone, as her mother watched helplessly,ā€ the statement said.

ā€œNew Jersey cannot continue to be a state that regularly kills people in mental health crisis because we have not acted with the will or urgency that our most vulnerable residents and their loved ones deserve,ā€ the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice wrote in a post on X.

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